A High-concept, Eclectic, Comedy podcast

My name is Judd Dowhy and I am, as my late Mother would say, jack of all trades and master of none. I have been a professional photographer, recording musician, stand up comic, middle school janitor, live audio and camera operator in television, communications professional, writer, graphic designer, and podcaster. There's probably more that I either can't recall, or blocked out.

My podcast is Just Gonna Read This. Originally the idea was to bore the listener to death with mundane readings of everything from phone books to cereal boxes. But my natural inclination to make an ass of myself quickly took over. I started reading outdated and odd public domain text, poems, stories, magazines, and other curiosities. Then I started writing some sketches, including my family in a few episodes, and writing some original material. What is Just Gonna Read This about? Well, I've started describing it as a high-concept, eclectic, comedy podcast with no interviews, no opinions, and very little common sense or good taste.

My listeners like things a little different. They don't enjoy the low hanging fruit. Who are they exactly? Well, I don't really know. I haven't gotten any hate mail, or fan mail for that matter, but I know there is a loyal audience out there that keeps coming back.

In 2018, my Mother was dying of cancer in my hometown, while I live 3500km away. I drove back and forth about 7 times in 6 months, because I still had to work while trying to sort my Mother's health, and then her estate. On the long drives I started listening to podcasts, mainly WTF with Marc Maron, Stuff You Should Know, Here's The Thing with Alec Baldwin, Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard, and having a background in audio production and music thought, "Well damn, I can do that". I don't know where the idea for Just Gonna Read This came from exactly, it just sort of popped into my head one day in early December 2018 and I just thought I'd run with it.

I've approached Just Gonna Read This like a TV show, with seasons. The podcast isn't particularly topical, and there are no interviews, so I decided to do 10 episode seasons and release episodes as ideas came to me. Once I'd hit 10 I'd take a little break. If you include preproduction, writing, production, and post production an episode will take anywhere from a couple of days to a couple of weeks to produce. I'm not funded in any way, so I still have to work full time. My wife and I have two young kids, so finding time can be a challenge. I don't hunt, I don't go bowling, and I don't hang out in friends' garages and drink beer. Instead, I just go out to my home office and make stuff up in the evenings and on weekends and after the kids are in bed.

Just Gonna Read This is hosted on Buzzsprout. They have been really great. If I've had an issue, or question, they are right on top of it. The cost for hosting is minimal, but I did invest in a Shure SM7B and some decent monitors. I have not paid for marketing yet. There are so many options out there and so many people offering podcast marketing services that I don't really know where to start. I would love to find someone who believes in what I'm doing and would like to partner up, even though there isn't any money in it at this point.

From podcasting, I get to look after my need to create things, on my own terms. I can't do idle. If I don't have a project on the go I get anxious. I would rather be swamped than bored. I'm not gaining anything financial at this point, I'm just creating a body of work that I'm proud of.

I would take sponsorship if the opportunity was there and I believed in the product, service, or company doing the sponsoring. I recognize that sounds idealistic, but it's where I'm at.

My downloads aren't what I'd like them to be. That said, I am absolutely THRILLED that anyone listens at all, let alone returns for more! I average about 110 downloads per episode. Very small potatoes, but those are gloriously loyal potatoes and I am thrilled to have them. Of course, I would love to have 100,000 downloads per episode, I would love for Just Gonna Read This to take off, but I'm happy creating something for my own amusement, and my kids' embarrassment.

I record using a Shure SM7B microphone in Adobe Audition. I compose and produce music in Apple GarageBand, and mix everything in Audition. Just Gonna Read This is hosted by Buzzsprout.

I prepare for an episode by finding something I'd like to read out loud and that strikes me funny in some way. I only use public domain material, so if I feel like reworking or rewriting bits I can do that. I'll write an opening of some kind, usually a cold open but not always. Then I will record, edit, mix and publish. I'm approaching season 5 a little different. I'm planning to work from one book for the entire season, a sort of concept album I suppose. I'm going to adapt the book into my voice and approach it like a comedy. Is it a recipe for success? Probably not. But I'm not afraid to break a few eggs. The last thing I want is to be a podcast that you can't tell from all the others.

Most listeners find my show through Apple Podcasts, a solid 50%. A few from Pandora, Spotify, and Deezer, and the rest from social media through my Buzzsprout site. I had my own website for the first two years, but I couldn't justify the expense for what I was getting out of it. So far all of my marketing has been organic, through Facebook and Instagram. I have a love/hate relationship with Twitter (don't we all?) but I've used that platform as well. The most useful marketing tool has been when I do nothing, really, and people find the show on Apple Podcasts or the other streaming services. I don't think my off-the-side-of-my-desk marketing has been very successful at all.

To anyone starting out I would say listen to all different types of podcasts. Listen to a variety. Get a feel for what you like and what you think works, and what you don't like and what you think doesn't work. Don't be afraid to stand on your own, in that your podcast doesn't have to be the same as all the others. I kind of resist this idea, or assumption rather, that podcast have interviews and guests. They don't. All TV Shows aren't sitcoms, all sitcoms aren't multi camera, etc etc etc. Do your thing. Be true to your vision. Because at the end of the day, you want to be proud of what you've done, even if you are the only person who likes it. Which brings me to the really important lesson: Don't get into podcasting to make money. The VAST majority of podcasters do not make a living from their shows. BUT, the technology is right there, the platforms are accessible, and you can make whatever the hell you want to and put it out there.

You can find Just Gonna Read This on Facebook at facebook.com/justgonnareadthis, and I have a personal profile as well. We are also on Instagram @justgonnareadthis and Pinterest @justgonnareadthis. You can reach me by email at justgonnareadthis@gmail.com.

I have not set up a patreon account, or paypal donate link, but perhaps it is time.